Eco-Challenge Activity: Get involved in a Community Science initiative!

There are many opportunities for you to get involved in gathering data and observations in your local community or - in this time of social distancing - from your own backyard! Community science programs (also called 'citizen science' programs) are a great way to learn about your local rivers, lands and wildlife, and contribute to a better understanding of our natural world. To learn more about what opportunities are out there, check out the list below (adapted from a 2018 list by K. Mergenthaler & K. Hussey, of the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy)!

Below are some projects you can participate in from your home in your community:

All Living Things

iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/ - explore and share your observations of the natural world (usually requires a smart phone for taking pictures and recording sounds)
BioBlitz: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/bioblitz/ - organize an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time. ​

Wildlife

Never Home Alone - The Wild Life of Homes: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/never-home-alone-the-wild-life-of-homes - This project aims to document the species that live indoors with humans, including spiders and insects
Bumble Bee Watch (Xerces Society): https://www.bumblebeewatch.org/ - a collaborative effort to track and conserve North America’s bumble bees
eBird (Cornell Lab of Ornithology): https://ebird.org/home - gather and share bird observations, photos and sounds
Great Backyard Count (Cornell Lab of Ornithology): https://gbbc.birdcount.org/ - annual real-time snapshot of where birds are (next date is February 12-15, 2021)
Nest Watch (Cornell Lab of Ornithology): https://nestwatch.org/about/overview/ - Do you have nesting birds in your yard? Join this nationwide monitoring program designed to track successes and failures of nesting birds
Project Feeder Watch (Cornell Lab of Ornithology): https://feederwatch.org/ - a winter-long (November-April) survey of birds that visit backyard feeders
Dragonfly Pond Watch (Migratory Dragonfly Partnership): http://www.migratorydragonflypartnership.org/index/welcome - If you have a pond or wetland on your property, join this initiative to track the annual movements of five major migratory dragonfly species in North America
Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper: https://www.monarchmilkweedmapper.org/ - If you are lucky enough to have monarch butterflies visiting your yard, join this project and help track monarch butterflies and milkweed across the west
Osprey Watch (Center for Conservation Biology): http://www.osprey-watch.org/ - collect information on breeding osprey
Pacific Flyway Shorebird Survey: http://data.prbo.org/apps/pfss/ - monitor wintering shorebirds across the Pacific flyway 
Vaux's Happening (Vaux's Swifts): https://www.vauxhappening.org/ - observe and document communal roosting sites of the Vaux's Swift

Plants

iMapInvasives: https://www.imapinvasives.org/ - share information about invasive nonnative plants & animals in your yard and garden

Phenology (the study of seasonal animal and plant life cycle events)

Oregon Season Tracker (Oregon State University): http://oregonseasontracker.forestry.oregonstate.edu/ - gather data on precipitation and seasonal plant changes at your home (and at school too, when classes start up again!)
Bud Burst: http://budburst.org/ - observe and track local leafing, flowering, fruiting and leaf-coloring phases of plants
Nature's Notebook (USA National Phenology): https://www.usanpn.org/natures_notebook - Connect with nature, learn and contribute to scientific discovery by observing phenology.
​Globe Observer: https://observer.globe.gov/ - track changes in clouds, water, plants, and other life
CoastWatch: https://oregonshores.org/coastwatch - Volunteers adopt mile-long segments of Oregon's coast, observing and reporting natural changes and human-induced impacts.

Clearinghouse of Projects

SciStarter: https://scistarter.org/ - Search for a wide variety of projects in 27 categories or by region.
Extreme Citizen Science: https://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/research/research-centres/excites - Bottom-up, community empowerment initiatives around the world. 

Air and Water Quality

Environmental Preparedness & Resilience Empowering People (Oregon State University): http://eprep.oregonstate.edu/ - Participate in a training led by OSU scientists and learn how to take air samples that help communities better understand their air quality.
​The Secchi Dip In: https://www.nalms.org/secchidipin/ - gather environmentally important information on our lakes, rivers, and estuaries.

Some examples of local custom-built projects

Adopt a Botanical Area (SW Oregon): https://www.kswild.org/conservation-efforts/tag/adopt-a-botanical-area - community watchdog program in designated Botanical Areas throughout the Klamath-Siskiyou region
Bald Hill Farm Turkey surveys (Greenbelt Land Trust): https://blog.nature.org/science/2018/02/21/can-you-ever-have-too-many-turkeys/ - help answer questions about the size and growth of the turkey population at Bald Hill Farm
BioBlitz (Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument): https://www.cascadesiskiyou.org/bioblitz-2017 - BioBlitz event focused on collecting information on amphibian and reptile species across the diverse habitats of the Monument
Fairy Shrimp & Endangered Plant surveys (The Nature Conservancy): Molly Morison, mmorison@tnc.org
Minto Island Turtle Surveys (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife): Sue Beilke, sue.g.beilke@state.or.us, 503-621-3488 x228
Water Quality Monitoring: https://secure.everyaction.com/YQhutPgqQUSbgq0S2KcCUA2 - collect, transport, test, and analyze water samples

Did we miss anything? Let us know if you have another community science initiative to add by sending us an email at Outreach@LuckiamuteLWC.org or by leaving a message at 503-837-0237. Thank you!